Grace Griffith scored seven times and set up another three goals, and three other players registered hat tricks as Eastern University Women's Lacrosse opened their Middle Atlantic Conference season with a 19-6 win at Misericordia University.

The Cougars scored first, and they were within a goal at 6-5 just over halfway through the first period. Griffith then scored her third of the day to put the Eagles up 7-5 with ten minutes left. The junior attack then set up Kelly Dando just over a minute later, and she gave the Eagles a 9-5 lead at halftime on an unassisted goal. Dando scored two of her three goals before halftime.

Eastern held a 24-12 edge in shots through the first period. The Eagles were able to win the draw control battle with a 9-5 halftime edge as well.

Griffith scored her fifth of the day right after half and set up Kendall Rood to give the Eagles an 11-5 edge four and a half minutes into the second half. Rood finished the day with three goals and a team-high three draw controls. Jess Field finished with three goals and three assists, and Krystal Cairns scored twice. The senior from Cheshire, CT is playing in the attack after spending her first three years as a defender.

Coach Azzarano was pleased with her team's progress and happy to see her team find their rhythm after a slow start. She said, "Things started to click in the attack. I liked that we had six different goal scorers and that we were able to take control of the game."

The Eagles return to action on Saturday with a home game against Alvernia.

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